Endless Mountains National Heritage Area Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill adds the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area to the National Heritage Area System. Its core area consists of Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming Counties, Pennsylvania, plus any portions of other Pennsylvania counties identified in the completed feasibility study; the Interior Secretary sets the specific boundary from that study. Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc. becomes the local coordinating entity. That nonprofit must submit a proposed management plan to Interior for approval within three years of enactment. The Secretary may provide assistance under the existing heritage-area statute, but that assistance authority ends 15 years after enactment. The designation coordinates preservation and development activity; the text does not itself transfer land or impose a new zoning code.
Who Benefits and How
Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc. benefits from formal designation as the coordinating entity and eligibility for federal assistance under the National Heritage Area framework. Heritage organizations, tourism businesses, and communities in the four named counties may benefit from coordinated preservation, interpretation, promotion, and economic-development activity associated with the national designation.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The nonprofit's management staff must prepare a compliant proposed management plan within three years and then coordinate the area under the requirements of the underlying federal program. Department of the Interior and National Park Service administrators must establish the specific boundary, review the plan, and administer assistance, while federal taxpayers bear authorized assistance costs for no more than 15 years.
Key Provisions
- Establishes the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area as a component of the National Heritage Area System.
- Defines the core area as four named Pennsylvania counties and allows additional study-identified portions of other Pennsylvania counties.
- Names Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc. as the local coordinating entity.
- Requires a proposed management plan within three years and ends Interior's assistance authority after 15 years.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establish the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area in northeastern Pennsylvania, name its local coordinator, require a management plan, and sunset federal assistance.
Key Policy Areas
Historic Preservation, Public Lands, Economic Development
Primary Purpose
Establish the Endless Mountains National Heritage Area in northeastern Pennsylvania, name its local coordinator, require a management plan, and sunset federal assistance.
Policy Domains
Endless Mountains National Heritage Area Act
Identified Gains
- Endless Mountains Heritage Region nonprofit organization
- Tourism businesses and heritage communities
Identified Costs
- Endless Mountains management staff
- Department of the Interior administrators
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported …
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …
Introduced in Senate
Mr. McCormick (for himself and Mr. Fetterman) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Communities in the four named Pennsylvania counties, Taxpayers
Positive-direction: Communities in the four named Pennsylvania counties
Negative-direction: Taxpayers
Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc.
Department of the Interior heritage-area administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "local_coordinator"
- → Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology